Gutter Cleaning — Rockley Road, South Yarra

Terracotta gets more fragile with age. A new tile takes a careful boot on the right part of it; a weathered one cracks under the same step, and a cracked tile is a leak. Replacing it is the other half: old profiles and colours go out of production, and a patch never matches. On a roof at that stage one wrong step costs more than the clean.

The whole run was worked with a vacuum system on carbon poles from ground level, with a camera at the head to see into the channel. It is slower than working from the roof, and there is no argument for doing it otherwise here. Moss on the tiles was noted rather than touched: clearing growth off a roof this brittle is a separate decision for the owner.

• Full gutter run cleared from ground level
• Vacuum poles used, with a camera to see the channel
• Downpipes checked and cleared
• No ladder against the roof, no weight on the tiles
• Moss coverage on the tiles noted for the owner
• Before and after photographs supplied

• Gutters and downpipes clear and draining
• Not one tile stepped on, cracked or displaced
• Condition of the roof documented for the owner
• Completed without access equipment on the roof